Mount Vernon police officer Michael McClaughry smiles during a news conference shortly before his discharge Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. McClaughry was blinded when shot while on duty nearly two months earlier and was discharged from the hospital on Valentine’s Day, also his 39th wedding anniversary. Elaine ThompsonAP

Mount Vernon police officer Michael McClaughry smiles during a news conference shortly before his discharge Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. McClaughry was blinded when shot while on duty nearly two months earlier and was discharged from the hospital on Valentine’s Day, also his 39th wedding anniversary. Elaine ThompsonAP

Mount Vernon police officer wounded in shooting comes home

A Mount Vernon police officer who went blind after he was shot in the head while on duty returned home from the hospital on Valentine’s Day.

At a news conference before his departure Tuesday, Mount Vernon Officer Mike McClaughry spoke with a strong voice about the “overwhelming support” he has received during the course of his recovery, according to KOMO News.

The 60-year-old has been undergoing treatment at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle since he was shot in the back of the head while responding to a shooting in Mount Vernon on Dec. 15.

McClaughry said he was “overwhelmed by the response from everybody.”

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McClaughry is nearly blind – he can only see variances of light and a little color – and has some short-term memory problems. But he has high hopes of gradually regaining at least some of his eyesight.

On a Facebook page set up to provide updates on his condition (facebook.com/officermikemcclaughry), his family encouraged people to line the street of Mount Vernon for his return to the police department, where a private reception was planned.

Officer Mike McClaughry returns home to a hero's welcome in Mt. Vernon!